Friday, March 26, 2010

I recieved a big Stampin' Up order this monday and wanted to try out a few things. I got these little "Sweet Treat Cups", it's pretty much a little cup on the card. So, I made these cards with the coordinating stamp set called "Something Sweet". It is so cute and I'm looking for more ideas to use these cups. Post any comments or questions below. For more of my cards, click on the Splitcoast Stampers link on the left. Enjoy!!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Alright everyone, I haven't posted anything in a while because it's EXAM TIME at York. So my life consists of studying and essay writing. Don't feel bad for me just yet, it is my LAST YEAR. *woo hoo*. So on to the good stuff, I spent all day working on an essay for a sociology of labour class and here is what I produced (the introduction). If anyone wants any sources or greater detail of the work, post a comment.

The premise of this essay was to show the shift in domestic workers from a prodominantly Caribbean populace to a currently prodominant Filipino one. I have not found much texts regarding this issue so I came up with my own possibilities. The possibilities stem from the root of female black slavery to the (supposed) highly educated Filipino community. Here is the introduction (again, any questions or comments, post in the comment section)

"According to Stasiulis and Bakan, in 1975 to 1976, 44 per cent of all entrants to Canada on temporary employment visas assigned to in-home domestic work were from the Caribbean and only .3 per cent was from Asia; by 1990, the statistic shifted with 5 per cent from the Caribbean, while 58 per cent were from the Philippines (2005). This was a dramatic shift in Canada’s seeking labour countries. Due to this dramatic change in per cent, I will seek out various possibilities within this essay. Throughout many decades, Canada’s policies and regulations regarding foreign domestic workers have evolved to be more discriminatory and more qualifications needed to be achieved. With experiences from English speaking Caribbean and Filipino women, the Canadian foreign labour policies prefer one cultural group over another to gain capital in the domestic market. The question to be asked within this situation is why has the percentage of cultural domestic workers shifted from largely English-speaking Caribbean women to a mostly Filipino domestic worker community? The essay will look at a historical look at domestic work, specifically live-in child care; programs and policies provided by Canada with a look at systemic inequality embedded within the states legislation; how these policies have changed and evolved today; possibilities on the cultural shift of domestic workers; and lastly, how these workers are seeking equality. The paper will focus on the shift from dominant English-speaking domestic workers to Filipino workers and Canada’s relation to this drastic shift."

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Alright, so I just completed an essay regarding transnational families. Something I'm pretty passionate about. The theme of my work this year has stemmed around domestic workers in Canada. Despite being sick for the past few days, along side my darling son, I have managed to complete an 8 page essay. Below is an excerpt form the essay. Enjoy!!!

"A transnational family is a term rarely used to describe the struggles and sacrifices that an individual makes for their immediate family overseas. Transnational families refer to one member of a family working overseas while the remaining family members stay in the country of origin (Bernhard, Landolt, & Goldring, 2008). Many women in developing countries rely on more developed countries for employment. One employment area in which Canada seeks out work is in the domestic work sector. This produced a program known today as the “Live-in Caregiver Program”. The idea of this essay began with a quote from a movie titled “Nanny Diaries” where a nanny states “I left my country because I thought I could give my boy and my sick mother a better life. I was supposed to be here 2 to 3 years tops and while I’ve been raising these strangers’ children, my own child has grown up without a mother. That is how this job chose me” (2007). This essay will look at domestic workers and their transnational families. I will go into more detail regarding gendered role of mothering, both transnational and biological, Canada’s part in labour migration, the role of the labour-sending country and finally the effects of labour migration to family members. The main objective of the essay will focus on the question, why do women from third-world countries continue to leave family behind to work in Canada? And who really benefits from labour migration?"

Sunday, March 7, 2010

This is my very first blog post. Something totally new for me. I'll pretty much be talking about projects I'm working on (crafty or not). I'll post pictures of my work, or passages from written work. I hope you all enjoy and I will keep this as up to date as possible. xoxo

About Me

I'm a daytime client care specialist for a bank and in the evening, I get my fingers inked up and glued together. I'm a mommy to a 5 year old boy and the wife to a handsome marine. So with a busy and stressful life, I need to find some time to create. =)